Hamilton Board of Health holds COVID-19 forum, flags pool and playground hurdles

HAMILTON — June 9, 2020 — Hamilton's Board of Health held a special public COVID-19 forum June 9, reporting 36 confirmed cases, three antibody-positive cases, and seven deaths as the town ranked among the lowest per capita infection rates in eastern Massachusetts. Board Chair David Smith, Public Health Nurse Christine Stevenly, and board member Dr. Giselle Perez fielded resident questions on community spread, testing access, and school reopening guidelines. Recreation Director Sean Simmons told the board that daily disinfection requirements under state Phase 2 guidance make playground reopening logistically impractical for most municipalities, and a town management official said the community pool's revolving fund cannot legally operate at the deficit that capacity restrictions — limiting sessions to roughly 30 swimmers at 40 percent capacity with mandatory 30-minute cleaning breaks — would produce. Smith warned that mask compliance at Crane Beach and Patton Park had dropped sharply, saying the behavior "is way too early" and raising his concern about a near-term wave of new infections.